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Configuring OSPF Route Control

Understanding OSPF Route Summarization

Area border routers (ABRs) send summary link advertisements to describe the routes to other areas. Depending on the number of destinations, an area can get flooded with a large number of link-state records, which can utilize routing device resources. To minimize the number of advertisements that are flooded into an area, you can configure the ABR to coalesce, or summarize, a range of IP addresses and send reachability information about these addresses in a single link-state advertisement (LSA). You can summarize one or more ranges of IP addresses, where all routes that match the specified area range are filtered at the area boundary, and the summary is advertised in their place.

For an OSPF area, you can summarize and filter intra-area prefixes. All routes that match the specified area range are filtered at the area boundary, and the summary is advertised in their place. For an OSPF not-so-stubby area (NSSA), you can only coalesce or filter NSSA external (Type 7) LSAs before they are translated into AS external (Type 5) LSAs and enter the backbone area. All external routes learned within the area that do not fall into the range of one of the prefixes are advertised individually to other areas.

In addition, you can also limit the number of prefixes (routes) that are exported into OSPF. By setting a user-defined maximum number of prefixes, you prevent the routing device from flooding an excessive number of routes into an area.

Example: Limiting the Number of Prefixes Exported to OSPF

This example shows how to limit the number of prefixes exported to OSPF.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

By default, there is no limit to the number of prefixes (routes) that can be exported into OSPF. By allowing any number of routes to be exported into OSPF, the routing device can become overwhelmed and potentially flood an excessive number of routes into an area.

You can limit the number of routes exported into OSPF to minimize the load on the routing device and prevent this potential problem. If the routing device exceeds the configured prefix export value, the routing device purges the external prefixes and enters into an overload state. This state ensures that the routing device is not overwhelmed as it attempts to process routing information. The prefix export limit number can be a value from 0 through 4,294,967,295.

In this example, you configure a prefix export limit of 100,000 by including the prefix-export-limit statement.

Topology

Configuration

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly limit the number of prefixes exported to OSPF, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To limit the number of prefixes exported to OSPF:

  1. Configure the prefix export limit value.

    Note:

    For OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the Prefix Export Limit

Purpose

Verify the prefix export counter that displays the number or routes exported into OSPF.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf overview command for OSPFv2, and enter the show ospf3 overview command for OSPFv3.

Understanding OSPF Traffic Control

Once a topology is shared across the network, OSPF uses the topology to route packets between network nodes. Each path between neighbors is assigned a cost based on interface throughput. The default algorithm computes the interface metric based on a reference bandwidth of 100 Mbps using the formula cost = reference-bandwidth / interface bandwidth. The result is any interface operating at 100 Mbps or faster is assigned the same metric value of 1. You can manually assign the OSPF interface metric to override the default value. Alternatively, given current Juniper platforms support interfaces that operate at 400 Gbps, its often a good idea to configure a larger reference-bandwidth value. Configuring a reference bandwidth value that is based on a multiple of the highest speed interface in your network automatically optimizes network paths based on interface speed and provides room for growth in network speeds.

The sum of the costs across a particular path between hosts determines the overall cost of the path. Packets are then routed along the shortest path using the shortest-path-first (SPF) algorithm. If multiple equal-cost paths exist between a source and destination address, OSPF routes packets along each path alternately, in round-robin fashion. Routes with lower total path metrics are preferred over those with higher path metrics.

You can use the following methods to control OSPF traffic:

  • Control the cost of individual OSPF network segments

  • Dynamically adjust OSPF interface metrics based on bandwidth

  • Control OSPF route selection

Controlling the Cost of Individual OSPF Network Segments

OSPF uses the following formula to determine the cost of a route:

You can modify the reference-bandwidth value, which is used to calculate the default interface cost. The interface bandwidth value is not user-configurable and refers to the actual bandwidth of the physical interface.

By default, OSPF assigns a default cost metric of 1 to any link faster than 100 Mbps, and a default cost metric of 0 to the loopback interface (lo0). No bandwidth is associated with the loopback interface.

To control the flow of packets across the network, OSPF allows you to manually assign a cost (or metric) to a particular path segment. When you specify a metric for a specific OSPF interface, that value is used to determine the cost of routes advertised from that interface. For example, if all routers in the OSPF network use default metric values, and you increase the metric on one interface to 5, all paths through that interface have a calculated metric higher than the default and are not preferred.

Note:

Any value you configure for the metric overrides the default behavior of using the reference-bandwidth value to calculate the route cost for that interface.

When there are multiple equal-cost routes to the same destination in a routing table, an equal-cost multipath (ECMP) set is formed. If there is an ECMP set for the active route, the Junos OS software uses a hash algorithm to choose one of the next-hop addresses in the ECMP set to install in the forwarding table.

You can configure Junos OS so that multiple next-hop entries in an ECMP set are installed in the forwarding table. Define a load-balancing routing policy by including one or more policy-statement configuration statements at the [edit policy-options] hierarchy level, with the action load-balance per-packet. Then apply the routing policy to routes exported from the routing table to the forwarding table.

Dynamically Adjusting OSPF Interface Metrics Based on Bandwidth

You can specify a set of bandwidth threshold values and associated metric values for an OSPF interface or for a topology on an OSPF interface. When the bandwidth of an interface changes (for example, if the lag loses an interface member or if the interface speed is administratively changed), Junos OS automatically sets the interface metric to the value associated with the appropriate bandwidth threshold value. Junos OS uses the smallest configured bandwidth threshold value that is equal to or greater than the actual interface bandwidth to determine the metric value. If the interface bandwidth is greater than any of the configured bandwidth threshold values, the metric value configured for the interface is used instead of any of the bandwidth-based metric values configured. The ability to recalculate the metric for an interface when its bandwidth changes is especially useful for aggregate interfaces.

Note:

You must also configure a metric for the interface when you enable bandwidth-based metrics.

Controlling OSPF Route Preferences

You can control the flow of packets through the network using route preferences. Route preferences are used to select which route is installed in the forwarding table when several protocols calculate routes to the same destination. The route with the lowest preference value is selected.

By default, internal OSPF routes have a preference value of 10, and external OSPF routes have a preference value of 150. Although the default settings are appropriate for most environments, you might want to modify the default settings if all of the routing devices in your OSPF network use the default preference values, or if you are planning to migrate from OSPF to a different interior gateway protocol (IGP). If all of the devices use the default route preference values, you can change the route preferences to ensure that the path through a particular device is selected for the forwarding table any time multiple equal-cost paths to a destination exist. When migrating from OSPF to a different IGP, modifying the route preferences allows you to perform the migration in a controlled manner.

See Also

Example: Controlling the Cost of Individual OSPF Network Segments

This example shows how to control the cost of individual OSPF network segments.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

All OSPF interfaces have a cost, which is a routing metric that is used in the link-state calculation. Routes with lower total path metrics are preferred to those with higher path metrics. In this example, we explore how to control the cost of OSPF network segments.

By default, OSPF assigns a default cost metric of 1 to any link faster than 100 Mbps, and a default cost metric of 0 to the loopback interface (lo0). No bandwidth is associated with the loopback interface. This means that all interfaces faster than 100 Mbps have the same default cost metric of 1. If multiple equal-cost paths exist between a source and destination address, OSPF routes packets along each path alternately, in round-robin fashion.

Having the same default metric might not be a problem if all of the interfaces are running at the same speed. If the interfaces operate at different speeds, you might notice that traffic is not routed over the fastest interface because OSPF equally routes packets across the different interfaces. For example, if your routing device has Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces running OSPF, each of these interfaces have a default cost metric of 1.

In the first example, you set the reference bandwidth to 10g (10 Gbps, as denoted by 10,000,000,000 bits) by including the reference-bandwidth statement. With this configuration, OSPF assigns the Fast Ethernet interface a default metric of 100, and the Gigabit Ethernet interface a metric of 10. Since the Gigabit Ethernet interface has the lowest metric, OSPF selects it when routing packets. The range is 9600 through 1,000,000,000,000 bits.

Figure 2 shows three routing devices in area 0.0.0.0 and assumes that the link between Device R2 and Device R3 is congested with other traffic. You can also control the flow of packets across the network by manually assigning a metric to a particular path segment. Any value you configure for the metric overrides the default behavior of using the reference-bandwidth value to calculate the route cost for that interface. To prevent the traffic from Device R3 going directly to Device R2, you adjust the metric on the interface on Device R3 that connects with Device R1 so that all traffic goes through Device R1.

In the second example, you set the metric to 5 on interface fe-1/0/1 on Device R3 that connects with Device R1 by including the metric statement. The range is 1 through 65,535.

Figure 2: OSPF Metric ConfigurationOSPF Metric Configuration

Topology

Configuration

Configuring the Reference Bandwidth

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure the reference bandwidth, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the reference bandwidth:

  1. Configure the reference bandwidth to calculate the default interface cost.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

    Tip:

    As a shortcut in this example, you enter 10g to specify 10 Gbps reference bandwidth. Whether you enter 10g or 10000000000, the output of show protocols ospf command displays 10 Gbps as 10g, not 10000000000.

  2. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

    Note:

    Repeat this entire configuration on all routing devices in a shared network.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Configuring a Metric for a Specific OSPF Interface

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure a metric for a specific OSPF interface, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the metric for a specific OSPF interface:

  1. Create an OSPF area.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. Configure the metric of the OSPF network segment.

  3. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the Configured Metric

Purpose

Verify the metric setting on the interface. Confirm that the Cost field displays the interface’s configured metric (cost). When choosing paths to a destination, OSPF uses the path with the lowest cost.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf interface detail command for OSPFv2, and enter the show ospf3 interface detail command for OSPFv3.

Verifying the Route

Purpose

When choosing paths to a destination, OSPF uses the path with the lowest total cost. Confirm that OSPF is using the appropriate path.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show route command.

See Also

Understanding Weighted ECMP Traffic Distribution on One-Hop OSPFv2 Neighbors

Equal-cost multipath (ECMP) is a popular technique to load balance traffic across multiple paths. With ECMP enabled, if paths to a remote destination have the same cost, then traffic is distributed between them in equal proportion. Equal distribution of traffic across multiple paths is not desirable if the local links to adjacent routers towards the ultimate destination have unequal capacity. Typically the traffic distribution between two links is equal and the link utilization is the same. However, if the capacity of an aggregated Ethernet bundle changes, equal traffic distribution results in imbalance of link utilization. In this case, weighted ECMP enables load balancing of traffic between equal cost paths in proportion to the capacity of the local links.

Taking as an example, there are two devices interconnected with an aggregated Ethernet bundle with four links and a single link of the same cost. Under normal conditions, both the AE bundles and the single link is utilized evenly to distribute traffic. However, if a link in the AE bundle goes down, there is a change in the link capacity that results in uneven link utilization. Weighted ECMP load balances traffic between the equal cost paths in proportion to the capacity of the local links. In this case, traffic is distributed in 30/40 proportion between the AE bundle and the single link.

Note:

This feature provides weighted ECMP routing to OSPFv2 neighbors that are one hop away. The operating system supports this feature on immediately connected routers only and does not support weighted ECMP on multihop routers, that is, on routers that are more than one hop away.

To enable weighted ECMP traffic distribution on directly connected OSPFv2 neighbors, configure weighted one-hop statement at the [edit protocols ospf spf-options multipath] hierarchy level.

Note:

You must configure per-packet load balancing policy before configuring this feature. WECMP will be operational if per-packet load balancing policy is in place.
Note:

For logical interfaces, you must configure interface bandwidth to distribute traffic across equal cost multipaths based on the underlying physical interface bandwidth. If you do not configure the logical bandwidth for each logical interface, the operating system assumes that the entire bandwidth of the physical interface is available for each logical interface.

Example: Weighted ECMP Traffic Distribution on One-Hop OSPFv2 Neighbors

SUMMARY Use this example to configure weighted equal cost multipath (ECMP) routing for distributing traffic to OSPFv2 neighbors that are one hop away to ensure optimal load balancing.

Note:

Our content testing team has validated and updated this example.
Tip:
Table 1: Readability Score and Time Estimates

Reading Time

30 minutes

Configuration Time

20 minutes

Example Prerequisites

Hardware requirements

Two MX Series routers.

Software requirements

Junos OS Release 24.2R1 or later running on all devices.

Before You Begin

Benefits

Weighted ECMP routing distributes traffic unequally over multiple paths for better load balancing. It is more efficient than equal distribution of traffic during per-packet load balancing.

Know more

Understanding Weighted ECMP Traffic Distribution on One-Hop OSPF Neighbors

Functional Overview

Technologies used

  • Ethernet Services: Aggregated Ethernet, VLAN

  • Routing Protocols:OSPF

  • Policy: Per-packet load balancing

Primary verification tasks

  1. Verify that OSPFv2 distributes traffic, by achieving weighted ECMP when one of the aggregated link is down during per-packet load balancing depending on the available bandwidth.

  2. Verify that OSPFv2 distributes traffic, by achieving weighted ECMP on logical interfaces based on the configured logical bandwidth.

Topology Overview

This configuration example depicts three aggregated Ethernet bundles ae0, ae1, and ae2 with two links each configured between Router R0 and Router R1. The Packet Forwarding Engine distributes traffic unequally between the three Ethernet bundles when one of the links goes down, depending on the available bandwidth.

Hostname

Role

Function

R0

The device on which the WECMP is configured.

R0 sends traffic to R1.

R1

The device that is directly connected to R0.

R1 receives traffic from R0.

Topology Illustration

Figure 3: Weighted ECMP Traffic Distribution on One Hop OSPFv2 Neighbors Weighted ECMP Traffic Distribution on One Hop OSPFv2 Neighbors

R0 Configuration Steps

For complete sample configurations on R0, see: Appendix 1: Set Commands on All Devices

This section highlights the main configuration tasks needed to configure the R0 device for this example. The first step is common to configuring the aggregated Ethernet interfaces. The following set of steps are specific to configuring OSPF on the AE bundles and configuring weighted ECMP.

    1. Configure the two member links of the ae0, ae1, and ae2 aggregated Ethernet bundles.

    2. Configure IP address and the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) for the ae0, ae1, and ae2 aggregated Ethernet interfaces.

    3. Configure the aggregated Ethernet interfaces (ae0, ae1, and ae2) for vlan tagging.

    4. Configure the loopback interface address.

    5. Configure the OSPF router identifier by entering the [router-id] configuration value.

    6. Configure logical interfaces with appropriate bandwidth based on the underlying physical bandwidth.

      Note:

      For logical interfaces, configure interface bandwidth to distribute traffic across equal-cost multipaths based on the underlying operational interface bandwidth. When you configure multiple logical interfaces on a single interface, configure appropriate logical bandwidth for each logical interface to see the desired traffic distribution over the logical interfaces.

    7. Configure a tunnel interface and specify the amount of bandwidth to reserve for tunnel traffic on each Packet Forwarding Engine of R0.

  2. Specify the maximum number of weighted ECMP interfaces that you want to configure. Enable graceful switchover and specify the number of aggregated Ethernet interfaces to be created.

  3. Configure OSPF on all the interfaces and on the AE bundles.

  4. Configure per-packet load balancing.

  5. Apply per-packet load balancing policy.

  6. Enable weighted ECMP traffic distribution on directly connected OSPFv2 neighbors.

Verification

Command Verification Task
show route extensive Verify equal distribution of traffic over equal-cost multiple paths.
show route extensive Verify unequal traffic distribution over available bandwidth.
show interfaces extensive Verify unequal traffic distribution over available bandwidth.

Verifying Equal Distribution of Traffic Over Equal-Cost Multiple Paths

Purpose

To verify that traffic is equally distributed over the aggregated Ethernet bundles.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show route 10.1.255.2 extensive command.

Meaning

OSPF distributes traffic equally when the three aggregated Ethernet bundles have the same bandwidth available.

Verifying Unequal Traffic Distribution Over Available Bandwidth

Purpose

To verify that OSPF distributes traffic unevenly when one of the aggregated link is down during per-packet load balancing depending on the available bandwidth.

Action

Disable one of the links on the ae0 bundle. From operational mode, enter the show route 10.1.255.2 extensive command.

Meaning

OSPF infers that the ae0 bundle has lesser bandwidth available. Therefore, modifies per-packet load balancing according to the available bandwidth. As per the output, only 20 percent of the bandwidth is available on ae0 because one of the aggregated Ethernet links is down. Thus OSPF distributes traffic unequally depending on the available bandwidth.

Appendix 1: Set Commands on All Devices

To quickly configure this example, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, and then copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level.

R0

R1

Example: Dynamically Adjusting OSPF Interface Metrics Based on Bandwidth

This example shows how to dynamically adjust OSPF interface metrics based on bandwidth.

Configuration

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure bandwidth threshold values and associated metric values for an OSPF interface, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the metric for a specific OSPF interface:

  1. Create an OSPF area.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. Configure the metric of the OSPF network segment.

  3. Configure the bandwidth threshold values and associated metric values. With this configuration when aggregated Ethernet interface’s bandwidth is 1g, OSPF considers metric 60 for this interface. When aggregated Ethernet interface’s bandwidth is 10g , OSPF considers metric 50 for this interface.

  4. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

You can specify a set of bandwidth threshold values and associated metric values for an OSPF interface. When the bandwidth of an interface changes, Junos OS automatically sets the interface metric to the value associated with the appropriate bandwidth threshold value. When you configure bandwidth-based metric values, you typically configure multiple bandwidth and metric values.

In this example, you configure OSPF interface ae0 for bandwidth-based metrics by including the bandwidth-based-metrics statement and the following settings:

  • bandwidth—Specifies the bandwidth threshold in bits per second. The range is 9600 through 1,000,000,000,000,000.

  • metric—Specifies the metric value to associate with a specific bandwidth value. The range is 1 through 65,535.

Topology

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the Configured Metric

Purpose

Verify the metric setting on the interface. Confirm that the Cost field displays the interface’s configured metric (cost). When choosing paths to a destination, OSPF uses the path with the lowest cost.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf interface detail command for OSPFv2, and enter the show ospf3 interface detail command for OSPFv3.

Example: Controlling OSPF Route Preferences

This example shows how to control OSPF route selection in the forwarding table. This example also shows how you might control route selection if you are migrating from OSPF to another IGP.

Configuration

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure the OSPF route preference values, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure route selection:

  1. Enter OSPF configuration mode and set the external and internal routing preferences.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Requirements

This example assumes that OSPF is properly configured and running in your network, and you want to control route selection because you are planning to migrate from OSPF to a different IGP.

Overview

Route preferences are used to select which route is installed in the forwarding table when several protocols calculate routes to the same destination. The route with the lowest preference value is selected.

By default, internal OSPF routes have a preference value of 10, and external OSPF routes have a preference value of 150. You might want to modify this setting if you are planning to migrate from OSPF to a different IGP. Modifying the route preferences enables you to perform the migration in a controlled manner.

This example makes the following assumptions:

  • OSPF is already running in your network.

  • You want to migrate from OSPF to IS-IS.

  • You configured IS-IS per your network requirements and confirmed it is working properly.

In this example, you increase the OSPF route preference values to make them less preferred than IS-IS routes by specifying 168 for internal OSPF routes and 169 for external OSPF routes. IS-IS internal routes have a preference of either 15 (for Level1) or 18 (for Level 2), and external routes have a preference of 160 (for Level 1) or 165 (for Level 2). In general, it is preferred to leave the new protocol at its default settings to minimize complexities and simplify any future addition of routing devices to the network. To modify the OSPF route preference values, configure the following settings:

  • preference—Specifies the route preference for internal OSPF routes. By default, internal OSPF routes have a value of 10. The range is from 0 through 4,294967,295 (232 – 1).

  • external-preference—Specifies the route preference for external OSPF routes. By default, external OSPF routes have a value of 150. The range is from 0 through 4,294967,295 (232 – 1).

Topology

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the Route

Purpose

Verify that the IGP is using the appropriate route. After the new IGP becomes the preferred protocol (in this example, IS-IS), you should monitor the network for any issues. After you confirm that the new IGP is working properly, you can remove the OSPF configuration from the routing device by entering the delete ospf command at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show route command.

Understanding OSPF Overload Function

If the time elapsed after the OSPF instance is enabled is less than the specified timeout, overload mode is set.

You can configure the local routing device so that it appears to be overloaded. An overloaded routing device determines it is unable to handle any more OSPF transit traffic, which results in sending OSPF transit traffic to other routing devices. OSPF traffic to directly attached interfaces continues to reach the routing device. You might configure overload mode for many reasons, including:

  • If you want the routing device to participate in OSPF routing, but do not want it to be used for transit traffic. This could include a routing device that is connected to the network for analysis purposes, but is not considered part of the production network, such as network management routing devices.

  • If you are performing maintenance on a routing device in a production network. You can move traffic off that routing device so network services are not interrupted during your maintenance window.

You configure or disable overload mode in OSPF with or without a timeout. Without a timeout, overload mode is set until it is explicitly deleted from the configuration. With a timeout, overload mode is set if the time elapsed since the OSPF instance started is less than the specified timeout.

A timer is started for the difference between the timeout and the time elapsed since the instance started. When the timer expires, overload mode is cleared. In overload mode, the router link-state advertisement (LSA) is originated with all the transit router links (except stub) set to a metric of 0xFFFF. The stub router links are advertised with the actual cost of the interfaces corresponding to the stub. This causes the transit traffic to avoid the overloaded routing device and to take paths around the routing device. However, the overloaded routing device’s own links are still accessible.

The routing device can also dynamically enter the overload state, regardless of configuring the device to appear overloaded. For example, if the routing device exceeds the configured OSPF prefix limit, the routing device purges the external prefixes and enters into an overload state.

In cases of incorrect configurations, the huge number of routes might enter OSPF, which can hamper the network performance. To prevent this, prefix-export-limit should be configured which will purge externals and prevent the network from the bad impact.

By allowing any number of routes to be exported into OSPF, the routing device can become overwhelmed and potentially flood an excessive number of routes into an area. You can limit the number of routes exported into OSPF to minimize the load on the routing device and prevent this potential problem.

By default, there is no limit to the number of prefixes (routes) that can be exported into OSPF. To prevent this, prefix-export-limit should be configured which will purge externals and prevent the network.

Starting from Junos OS Release 18.2 onward, the following functionalities are supported by Stub Router in your OSPF network, when the OSPF is overloaded:

  • Allow Route leaking—external prefixes are redistributed during OSPF overload and the prefixes are originated with normal cost.

  • Advertise stub network with max metric—stub networks are advertised with maximum metric during OSPF overload.

  • Advertise intra-area prefix with max metric—intra-area prefixes are advertised with maximum metric during OSPF overload.

  • Advertise external prefix with max possible metric—OSPF AS external prefixes are redistributed during OSPF overload and the prefixes are advertised with maximum cost.

You can now configure the following when OSPF is overloaded:

  • allow-route-leaking at the [edit protocols <ospf | ospf3> overload] hierarchy level to advertise the external prefixes with normal cost.

  • stub-network at the [edit protocols ospf overload] hierarchy level to advertise stub network with maximum metric.

  • intra-area-prefix at the [edit protocols ospf3 overload] hierarchy level to advertise intra-area prefix with maximum metric.

  • as-external at the [edit protocols <ospf | ospf3> overload] hierarchy level to advertise external prefix with maximum metric.

To limit the number of prefixes exported to OSPF:

The prefix export limit number can be a value from 0 through 4,294,967,295.

See Also

Example: Configuring OSPF to Make Routing Devices Appear Overloaded

This example shows how to configure a routing device running OSPF to appear to be overloaded.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

You can configure a local routing device running OSPF to appear to be overloaded, which allows the local routing device to participate in OSPF routing, but not for transit traffic. When configured, the transit interface metrics are set to the maximum value of 65535.

This example includes the following settings:

  • overload—Configures the local routing device so it appears to be overloaded. You might configure this if you want the routing device to participate in OSPF routing, but do not want it to be used for transit traffic, or you are performing maintenance on a routing device in a production network.

  • timeout seconds—(Optional) Specifies the number of seconds at which the overload is reset. If no timeout interval is specified, the routing device remains in the overload state until the overload statement is deleted or a timeout is set. In this example, you configure 60 seconds as the amount of time the routing device remains in the overload state. By default, the timeout interval is 0 seconds (this value is not configured). The range is from 60 through 1800 seconds.

Topology

Configuration

Procedure

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure a local routing device to appear as overloaded, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure a local routing device to appear overloaded:

  1. Enter OSPF configuration mode.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. Configure the local routing device to be overloaded.

  3. (Optional) Configure the number of seconds at which overload is reset.

  4. (Optional) Configure the limit on the number prefixes exported to OSPF, to minimise the load on the routing device and prevent the device from entering the overload mode.

  5. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration. The output includes the optional timeout and prefix-export-limit statements.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying Traffic Has Moved Off Devices

Purpose

Verify that the traffic has moved off the upstream devices.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show interfaces detail command.

Verifying Transit Interface Metrics

Purpose

Verify that the transit interface metrics are set to the maximum value of 65535 on the downstream neighboring device.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf database router detail advertising-router address command for OSPFv2, and enter the show ospf3 database router detail advertising-router address command for OSPFv3.

Verifying the Overload Configuration

Purpose

Verify that overload is configured by reviewing the Configured overload field. If the overload timer is also configured, this field also displays the time that remains before it is set to expire.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf overview command for OSPFv2, and the show ospf3 overview command for OSPFv3.

Verifying the Viable Next Hop

Purpose

Verify the viable next hop configuration on the upstream neighboring device. If the neighboring device is overloaded, it is not used for transit traffic and is not displayed in the output.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show route address command.

Understanding the SPF Algorithm Options for OSPF

OSPF uses the shortest-path-first (SPF) algorithm, also referred to as the Dijkstra algorithm, to determine the route to reach each destination. The SPF algorithm describes how OSPF determines the route to reach each destination, and the SPF options control the timers that dictate when the SPF algorithm runs. Depending on your network environment and requirements, you might want to modify the SPF options. For example, consider a large-scale environment with a large number of devices flooding link-state advertisements (LSAs) through out the area. In this environment, it is possible to receive a large number of LSAs to process, which can consume memory resources. By configuring the SPF options, you continue to adapt to the changing network topology, but you can minimize the amount of memory resources being used by the devices to run the SPF algorithm.

You can configure the following SPF options:

  • The delay in the time between the detection of a topology change and when the SPF algorithm actually runs.

  • The maximum number of times that the SPF algorithm can run in succession before the hold-down timer begins.

  • The time to hold down, or wait, before running another SPF calculation after the SPF algorithm has run in succession the configured number of times. If the network stabilizes during the holddown period and the SPF algorithm does not need to run again, the system reverts to the configured values for the delay and rapid-runs statements.

Example: Configuring SPF Algorithm Options for OSPF

This example shows how to configure the SPF algorithm options. The SPF options control the timers that dictate when the SPF algorithm runs.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

OSPF uses the SPF algorithm to determine the route to reach each destination. All routing devices in an area run this algorithm in parallel, storing the results in their individual topology databases. Routing devices with interfaces to multiple areas run multiple copies of the algorithm. The SPF options control the timers used by the SPF algorithm.

Before you modify any of the default settings, you should have a good understanding of your network environment and requirements.

This example shows how to configure the options for running the SPF algorithm. You include the spf-options statement and the following options:

  • delay—Configures the amount of time (in milliseconds) between the detection of a topology and when the SPF actually runs. When you modify the delay timer, consider your requirements for network reconvergence. For example, you want to specify a timer value that can help you identify abnormalities in the network, but allow a stable network to reconverge quickly. By default, the SPF algorithm runs 200 milliseconds after the detection of a topology. The range is from 50 through 8000 milliseconds.

  • rapid-runs—Configures the maximum number of times that the SPF algorithm can run in succession before the hold-down timer begins. By default, the number of SPF calculations that can occur in succession is 3. The range is from 1 through 10. Each SPF algorithm is run after the configured SPF delay. When the maximum number of SPF calculations occurs, the hold-down timer begins. Any subsequent SPF calculation is not run until the hold-down timer expires.

  • holddown—Configures the time to hold down, or wait, before running another SPF calculation after the SPF algorithm has run in succession the configured maximum number of times. By default, the hold down time is 5000 milliseconds. The range is from 2000 through 20,000 milliseconds. If the network stabilizes during the holddown period and the SPF algorithm does not need to run again, the system reverts to the configured values for the delay and rapid-runs statements.

Topology

Configuration

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure the SPF options, copy the following commands and paste them into the CLI.

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the SPF options:

  1. Enter OSPF configuration mode.

    Note:

    To specify OSPFv3, include the ospf3 statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level.

  2. Configure the SPF delay time.

  3. Configure the maximum number of times that the SPF algorithm can run in succession.

  4. Configure the SPF hold-down timer.

  5. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

To confirm your OSPFv3 configuration, enter the show protocols ospf3 command.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying SPF Options

Purpose

Verify that SPF is operating per your network requirements. Review the SPF delay field, the SPF holddown field, and the SPF rapid runs fields.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf overview command for OSPFv2, and enter the show ospf3 overview command for OSPFv3.

Configuring OSPF Refresh and Flooding Reduction in Stable Topologies

The OSPF standard requires that every link-state advertisement (LSA) be refreshed every 30 minutes. The Juniper Networks implementation refreshes LSAs every 50 minutes. By default, any LSA that is not refreshed expires after 60 minutes. This requirement can result in traffic overhead that makes it difficult to scale OSPF networks. You can override the default behavior by specifying that the DoNotAge bit be set in self-originated LSAs when they are initially sent by the router or switch. Any LSA with the DoNotAge bit set is reflooded only when a change occurs in the LSA. This feature thus reduces protocol traffic overhead while permitting any changed LSAs to be flooded immediately. Routers or switches enabled for flood reduction continue to send hello packets to their neighbors and to age self-originated LSAs in their databases.

The Juniper implementation of OSPF refresh and flooding reduction is based on RFC 4136, OSPF Refresh and Flooding Reduction in Stable Topologies. However, the Juniper implementation does not include the forced-flooding interval defined in the RFC. Not implementing the forced-flooding interval ensures that LSAs with the DoNotAge bit set are reflooded only when a change occurs.

This feature is supported for the following:

  • OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 interfaces

  • OSPFv3 realms

  • OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 virtual links

  • OSPFv2 sham links

  • OSPFv2 peer interfaces

  • All routing instances supported by OSPF

  • Logical systems

To configure flooding reduction for an OSPF interface, include the flood-reduction statement at the [edit protocols (ospf | ospf3) area area-id interface interface-id] hierarchy level.

Note:

If you configure flooding reduction for an interface configured as a demand circuit, the LSAs are not initially flooded, but sent only when their content has changed. Hello packets and LSAs are sent and received on a demand-circuit interface only when a change occurs in the network topology.

In the following example, the OSPF interface so-0/0/1.0 is configured for flooding reduction. As a result, all the LSAs generated by the routes that traverse the specified interface have the DoNotAge bit set when they are initially flooded, and LSAs are refreshed only when a change occurs.

Note:

Beginning with Junos OS Release 12.2, you can configure a global default link-state advertisement (LSA) flooding interval in OSPF for self-generated LSAs by including the lsa-refresh-interval minutes statement at the [edit protocols (ospf | ospf3)] hierarchy level. The Juniper Networks implementation refreshes LSAs every 50 minutes. The range is 25 through 50 minutes. By default, any LSA that is not refreshed expires after 60 minutes.

If you have both the global LSA refresh interval configured for OSPF and OSPF flooding reduction configured for a specific interface in an OSPF area, the OSPF flood reduction configuration takes precedence for that specific interface.

Understanding Synchronization Between LDP and IGPs

LDP is a protocol for distributing labels in non-traffic-engineered applications. Labels are distributed along the best path determined by the interior gateway protocol (IGP). If synchronization between LDP and the IGP is not maintained, the label-switch path (LSP) goes down. When LDP is not fully operational on a given link (a session is not established and labels are not exchanged), the IGP advertises the link with the maximum cost metric. The link is not preferred but remains in the network topology.

LDP synchronization is supported only on active point-to-point interfaces and LAN interfaces configured as point-to-point under the IGP. LDP synchronization is not supported during graceful restart.

See Also

Example: Configuring Synchronization Between LDP and OSPF

This example shows how to configure synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2.

Requirements

Before you begin:

Overview

In this example, configure synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2 by performing the following tasks:

  • Enable LDP on interface so-1/0/3, which is a member of OSPF area 0.0.0.0, by including the ldp statement at the [edit protocols] hierarchy level. You can configure one or more interfaces. By default, LDP is disabled on the routing device.

  • Enable LDP synchronization by including the ldp-synchronization statement at the [edit protocols ospf area area-id interface interface-name] hierarchy level. This statement enables LDP synchronization by advertising the maximum cost metric until LDP is operational on the link.

  • Configure the amount of time (in seconds) the routing device advertises the maximum cost metric for a link that is not fully operational by including the hold-time statement at the [edit protocols ospf area area-id interface interface-name ldp-synchronization] hierarchy level. If you do not configure the hold-time statement, the hold-time value defaults to infinity. The range is from 1 through 65,535 seconds. In this example, configure 10 seconds for the hold-time interval.

This example also shows how to disable synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2 by including the disable statement at the [edit protocols ospf area area-id interface interface-name ldp-synchronization] hierarchy level.

Topology

Configuration

Enabling Synchronization Between LDP and OSPFv2

CLI Quick Configuration

The following example requires you to navigate various levels in the configuration hierarchy. For information about navigating the CLI, see Modifying the Junos OS Configuration in CLI User Guide.

To quickly enable synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2, copy the following commands, remove any line breaks, and then paste them into the CLI.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To enable synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2:

  1. Enable LDP on the interface.

  2. Configure LDP synchronization and optionally configure a time period of 10 seconds to advertise the maximum cost metric for a link that is not fully operational.

  3. Configure a time period of 10 seconds to advertise the maximum cost metric for a link that is not fully operational.

  4. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ldp and show protocols ospf commands. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

Disabling Synchronization Between LDP and OSPFv2

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly disable synchronization between LDP and OSPFv2, copy the following command and paste it into the CLI.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To disable synchronization between LDP and OSPF:

  1. Disable synchronization by including the disable statement.

  2. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the LDP Synchronization State of the Interface

Purpose

Verify the current state of LDP synchronization on the interface. The LDP sync state displays information related to the current state, and the config holdtime field displays the configured hold-time interval.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf interface extensive command.

OSPFv2 Compatibility with RFC 1583 Overview

By default, the Junos OS implementation of OSPFv2 is compatible with RFC 1583, OSPF Version 2. This means that Junos OS maintains a single best route to an autonomous system (AS) boundary router in the OSPF routing table, rather than multiple intra-AS paths, if they are available. You can now disable compatibility with RFC 1583. It is preferable to do so when the same external destination is advertised by AS boundary routers that belong to different OSPF areas. When you disable compatibility with RFC 1583, the OSPF routing table maintains the multiple intra-AS paths that are available, which the router uses to calculate AS external routes as defined in RFC 2328, OSPF Version 2. Being able to use multiple available paths to calculate an AS external route can prevent routing loops.

See Also

Example: Disabling OSPFv2 Compatibility with RFC 1583

This example shows how to disable OSPFv2 compatibility with RFC 1583 on the routing device.

Requirements

No special configuration beyond device initialization is required before disabling OSPFv2 compatibility with RFC 1583.

Overview

By default, the Junos OS implementation of OSPF is compatible with RFC 1583. This means that Junos OS maintains a single best route to an autonomous system (AS) boundary router in the OSPF routing table, rather than multiple intra-AS paths, if they are available. You can disable compatibility with RFC 1583. It is preferable to do so when the same external destination is advertised by AS boundary routers that belong to different OSPF areas. When you disable compatibility with RFC 1583, the OSPF routing table maintains the multiple intra-AS paths that are available, which the router uses to calculate AS external routes as defined in RFC 2328. Being able to use multiple available paths to calculate an AS external route can prevent routing loops. To minimize the potential for routing loops, configure the same RFC compatibility on all OSPF devices in an OSPF domain.

Topology

Configuration

Procedure

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly disable OSPFv2 compatibility with RFC 1583, copy the following commands, paste them into a text file, remove any line breaks, change any details necessary to match your network configuration, copy and paste the commands into the CLI at the [edit] hierarchy level, and then enter commit from configuration mode. You configure this setting on all devices that are part of the OSPF domain.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To disable OSPFv2 compatibility with RFC 1583:

  1. Disable RFC 1583.

  2. If you are done configuring the device, commit the configuration.

    Note:

    Repeat this configuration on each routing device that participates in an OSPF routing domain.

Results

Confirm your configuration by entering the show protocols ospf command. If the output does not display the intended configuration, repeat the instructions in this example to correct the configuration.

Verification

Confirm that the configuration is working properly.

Verifying the OSPF Routes

Purpose

Verify that the OSPF routing table maintains the intra-AS paths with the largest metric, which the router uses to calculate AS external routes.

Action

From operational mode, enter the show ospf route detail command.

Related Documentation